Yaso Therapeutics gel technology takes aim at sperm before they can reach an egg, creating a non-hormonal contraceptive that prevents pregnancy and kills STIs.
Women bear a huge portion of the shared responsibility when it comes to family planning. We’re constantly told how to be responsible about pregnancy prevention, and often the burden of choosing an “acceptable” contraceptive is solely ours. In addition, most products on the market alter our lives, health, and likelihood for serious medical events, while others are painful, uncomfortable, and expensive, not to mention invasive and difficult to access. Throw in the political, religious, and medical realities of birth control and we haven’t just opened a can of worms; we’ve smashed it to pieces. Yaso Therapeutics aims to offer women in all socioeconomic areas pregnancy prevention that is unproblematic and affordable.
Contraceptives in a Nutshell
Contraception can be thought about in two overarching categories: hormonal and non-hormonal. Hormonal predominantly owns the birth control market with high effectiveness, numerous delivery routes, and extensive scientific research backing it up. Non-hormonal contraceptives are far less prominent, and at times require promotion from both parties to be effective. A commonality between both is the heavy burden it disproportionately has on girls and women.
Hormonal options work great for many; however they require meticulous use, planning, and sacrifice, not to mention the religious implications, political pushback, and social scrutinization women face when merely deciding what’s best for their lives and their bodies. Non-hormonal options are fewer in number and popularity, but this shouldn’t deflect from their effectiveness. Yaso Therapeutics in clinical phase on a non-hormonal birth control that is topical, spermicidal, and sexually transmitted infection-killable without the use of a condom (or complete abstinence).
The Potential of PPCM
Polyphenylene carboxymethylene (PPCM) is a contraceptive microbicide that has significant antimicrobial power against prominent viral and bacterial sexually transmitted pathogens while simultaneously preventing pregnancy before fertilization by inactivating sperm. PPCM initiates premature acrosomal loss (what sperm use to penetrate an egg) by inactivating acrosomal enzymes, preventing fertilization. Functionally, this sodium salt compound prevents infection from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Neisseria gonorrhoeae, herpes simplex virus, and chlamydia trachomatis, which are the most prevalent and easily complicated infections facing sex-practicing people, while also preventing pregnancy.
Yaso Therapeutics, led by CEO Mary Weitzel, has made it their mission to provide healthy, safe, affordable, and unproblematic birth control utilizing PPCM that is accessible and promotes contraceptive independence for women. With 20 years of experience in women’s health and a background in polymers, health product development, and an MBA from Harvard University, Mary and her team are developing a vaginal gel for women that not only changes the landscape of birth control, but it is far less irritating, expensive, and difficult to access.
Yaso Enters FDA-Authorized Clinical Trial Phase
In October of 2023,, Yaso Therapeutics announced the authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their first in-human clinical trials with their PPCM gel. Mary and her team at Yaso will begin human trials with their proposed vaginal gel that does not contain N-9, an effective yet irritating component of current spermicide products on the market that induces an inflammatory response in women, damaging tissue and causing unnecessary irritation.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Yaso Therapeutics multiple grants to support the refinement and clinical process of their polymer gel, and with the support of other business grants they’re confident women across the country will have a more affordable and accessible option for family planning, putting women first when it comes to comfort, safety, and reliability when choosing birth control.
Challenges of Contraceptive Development
Don’t fix what isn’t broken; such a saying promotes stagnation, and although this mindset emphasizes stability, without drastic change more sophisticated and technologically savvy solutions would never be discovered. Just like many other products in development, Yaso Therapeutics faces challenges when navigating in-human trials for clinical approval. Trials in themselves require a huge effort to conduct, relying on participation, dedication, and time. In addition, evidence can be skewed by patient perception, effort, and reliability, amongst other details scientific trials demand.
Predictably, companies tend to lean more to saving money and maximizing profits rather than spending on new techniques geared towards improving the lives of women. Yaso, incredibly, has thrown this approach out, and prides themselves on promoting female autonomy and control over their own lives while developing their vaginal gel. Focusing on how best to address women’s reproductive health and navigating the intimidating process of contraceptive selection, Yaso Therapeutics is creating a new niche that has the potential to expand into additional health sectors.
Existing contraceptives on the market, whether hormonal or non-hormonal, also have a clear regulatory pathway that companies can use as a template when designing and improving existing technologies for birth control. Introducing a brand-new product without scientific precedent is risky, and established businesses that focus on profit tend to shy away from risk. Yaso Therapeutics not only aims to transform birth control for women, but they also set the standard when it comes to targeting their audience with compassion, nuance, and science.
The Future of Birth Control
When it comes to birth control, family planning, and preventing the spread of STIs, women are consistently held responsible financially, morally, socially, and politically. Although there are options on the market for “everyone”, traditional methods are poorly improved, burdensome on women, and inaccessible and expensive to most, which prevent a large population from being able to utilize these solutions. Yaso Therapeutics’ refinement of PPCM and their acknowledgement of the need for birth control that not only prevents pregnancy but kills harmful pathogens will transform contraceptives.
Mary and her team at Yaso understand the value of PPCM and its’ possibilities: “Our vaginal gel with PPCM is a promising non-hormonal contraceptive, and we believe our planned clinical trials will show that millions of women may use it for family planning as well as disease prevention”.